Some Entertaining Ideas

Summer is officially here and the Heat Has Hit with typical no holds barred enthusiasm. We're craving not much more than a cool pool, frosty libations and fabulous friends! Trouble is, those fabulous friends tend to arrive famished and expecting a tableful of DM Cuisine's finest.

Here are a few of our heat free kitchen ideas for the summer:

Watermelon, Feta and Watercress Salad

Place a few handfuls of clean, dry watercress in a bowl. Add 1 cup or more of cubed seedless watermelon, and about 1/2 cup of diced feta cheese - we prefer French feta. Season with a bit of sea salt, fresh ground black pepper and several generous splashes of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Gently toss the salad and then sprinkle with a good red wine vinegar. Toss again and serve

Pan Bagnat

Let your inspirations (or refrigerator leftovers) dictate what goes in your own version. What's important is a good baguette, slightly hollowed out and filled with deliciousness.

A classic Pan Bagnat (translated as "wet bread" in French Provencal dialect) is essentially a Tuna Salad Nicoise in a baguette.

Slice a roll or a baguette lengthwise and tear out some of the interior bread filling. Drizzle baguette with a simple olive oil vinaigrette. Layer top quality canned tuna, sliced hard cooked eggs, ripe tomato slices, pitted black olives, raw red peppers, grilled red onion .... feel free to adlib, extemporize, improvize and improve.

And here's the key, once you've finished, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and tuck it in the refrigerator for a few hours, some people actually even weight it down a bit.

When ready to serve, unwrap, slice and enjoy.

Root Vegetable Chips with Buttermilk Chive Dip

There are so many top quality, well made chips available, that we love to put out a big bowl of them with this light buttermilk dip. Don't leave the chips out too long on a humid day or you'll lose the crunch.

Buttermilk Chive Cream

1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup buttermilk
3 Tablespoons chives, minced
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco brand hot sauce

Stir together ingredients until well combined. Chill and serve with chips.

Finish off with some local berries and whipped cream you brought back from the farmers market, or ice cream sandwiches made with your favorite bakery's oatmeal raisin cookies, or just a big bowl of Bing cherries.

For cocktail treats, think about our featured specialty cocktail The Highline LemonLime.

You can find the recipe in the Chef's Corner at dmcuisine.com